Renting to College Students

[Igor Kalabukhov]

In my new member post I brought up wanting to buy a tri/four plex to house hack and a gentleman, Samuel Collier, suggested I look into purchasing a property near a major university that I live by. This got me curious as to the what kinds of experiences people have had renting to college tenants. 

[Roy N.]

@Igor Kalabukhov

Student rentals comprise 50-60% of our units at the moment.   We rent entire houses and apartments primarily to later year or graduate students and have a property where we rent furnished rooms to international students.

Students are a little more management than many tenant classes - mostly because of being young and ignorant - however, if you offer them a lifestyle service rather than simply a roof, they can be wonderful tenants.  Turnover will be higher (1-2 years on average for us) as kids like to move around and change housemates and they grow and learn more about themselves.

Unlike John's advice above, I do not recommend having parents as a co-signatory  to the lease ... John gives a very good example of why we do not use them.  A co-signatory to the lease is a tenant with all the rights that entails, including the right of access (a helicopter dad/mom never plays well with housemates).  It also entitles them to contact you about the lease.

Rather than co-signors, we use a guarantor and execute a separate agreement (the guarantee) with that person whereby they guarantee the performance of the tenant.   Unlike a co-signer, a guarantor has the right to know the standing of the tenant with respect the the (financial) obligations of the lease default and the privilege of opening their wallet should the tenant default.  Guarantor is financially screened (credit history, etc) as a tenant applicant would be.